


Just a Little Walk

by VivaJayne



Category: Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-06-02 11:27:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19440538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VivaJayne/pseuds/VivaJayne
Summary: Lady and Tramp go out for a midnight stroll, and they meet some old friends... and some old enemies.





	Just a Little Walk

“Pidge?” A voice growled in Lady’s ear, interrupting the most pleasant dream she’d had in months. It was like a flashback, to a time before all of the confusion with Aunt Sarah, only the love of her life was there to make it all the more perfect.

“Pidge?” The voice rang again, like a persistent alarm clock that wouldn’t fold in its efforts to rouse her. Lady turned her head away and found her cheek now cold with the absence of her heater. Not fully awake, she could still see the picturesque scene in her mind’s eye; Jim Dear and Darling sitting comfortably in front of their fireplace, Darling knitting away at yet another scarf for one of the neighbourhood children in an attempt to prepare for the upcoming winter, Jim Dear avidly reading the newspaper for any signs of change since this morning. And of course, Lady and her Tramp curled up peacefully in front of the fireplace, both sleeping lightly despite the less-than cheerful weather outside.

“Pidgin!” The insistent voice, along with a soft nudge by someone’s nose, was finally enough to break the barrier of Lady’s sleep. She opened one eye lazily to see Tramp crouched before her, nose to nose, eye to eye, with his tongue lolling out of the corner of his mouth.

“Someone’s in a good mood this-m-m-morning,” Lady yawned. She smiled at him and jumped up; being a morning dog herself she wasn’t used to waking up after Tramp, but it was known to happen on occasion.

“Morning? Pidge, it’s not even midnight yet.” Tramp barked in a whisper. Lady glanced over at the clock next to the staircase and sure enough he was right. The little hand hadn’t quite struck twelve. Lady shot her head back to Tramp who was still grinning like a mad dog, shifting from forepaws, to rear paws.

“Tramp, what’s going on?” Lady asked, suddenly alert. Could something have been wrong? Surely not if Tramp was in such a good mood. “Is something wrong?”

“Not at all!” Tramp scoffed at the thought. “I want you to go for a walk with me.” Lady’s left ear twitched in confusion. A walk? At this hour? Maybe Tramp’s collar was on too tight...

Seeing Lady’s look of hesitance, Tramp barked a chuckle. “Oh come one Pidge, ever since I moved in here we’ve been nothing but nice. I miss living life for ourselves. You gotta remember how much fun we had a few months back?” Tramp had a mischievous glint in his eye that reminded Lady strongly of the day he’d found her in her lawn with Jacque and Rusty.

“I don’t know Tramp...” Lady hesitated. “Jim Dear and Darling wouldn’t like it...” Jim Dear hadn’t been thrilled about allowing another dog in the house but he’d warmed up to Tramp after the rat incident. However, he could still be swayed in the opposing direction and Lady didn’t want to risk losing Tramp.

“We’ve been nothing but nice to Jim Dear and Darling.” Tramp insisted. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if we went out for just a little while...” No matter what Lady said or did, Tramp could not be put down. The trouble-making glint remained, and lady could tell by the way he was shifting that his tail was wagging.

“Fine,” She agreed with a sniff. “On one condition.”

“And what’s that Pidgin?” Tramp asked a bit too eagerly. Lady smiled at him and started to lie back down. Tramp furrowed his brow in confusion.

“We wait until morning and make sure Jim Dear or Darling see us leave.” Tramp groaned and collapsed to the floor. Lady knew he wouldn’t agree to this, sitting down at least.

“Pidge, come on.” Tramp insisted, nudging her again with his nose. “It’s just a little walk.”

There was something in the way that Tramp said ‘Just a little walk’ that really got to Lady. She held Tramp’s pleading gaze for perhaps too long because soon she was pushing herself up on all fours, and trotting towards the doggy door.

“Well come on,” She urged. Tramp jumped up, the eagerness back in his eyes as he practically ran over to meet Lady. He gave her an affectionate lick on the cheek before nudging her out the door. Lady laughed at his hurry, but listened to him, emerging into the crisp night air.

After a few minutes of just walking down the sidewalk, Lady began to get suspicious. Tramp’s step held more bounce than normal and he wasn’t following their usual route. He turned left when they were meant to go right; he went straight when they were meant to turn. “Tramp, where are we going?” Lady asked.

“We’re going around the neighbourhood Pidge,” Tramp barked, his tongue lolling to the side as he glanced around at his old home. You could take a dog out of the streets, but you can’t take the streets out of the dog.

“Well I don’t like it,” Lady said, looking around. All this was looking horrifyingly familiar to the area of town she’d been caught in during her escape from Aunt Sara. Finding Tramp had been her only saving grace, and now she pressed into him while looking around nervously.

“It’s ok Pidge,” Tramp comforted, nuzzling the side of her head and neck. “Just look, see the beauty in the town at night- look at the sky, and peacefulness of the streets. You can’t see this kind of thing in the daylight Pidge, you just can’t.” Lady stole herself to see what he was referring to, and couldn’t help but be captivated by the slumbering town. “You see? And it’s even better when you’re... running.” He hinted. Lady looked up at him.

“Tramp you’re not honestly suggesting that we-” She stopped as Tramp directed her attention to a main street in town, lit with many streetlamps and wide enough that they could run through the center and be far away from any dark alleys.

“You run down that street,” Tramp instructed, “And I’ll run down that one,” He pointed to a darker, narrower alley that made Lady’s stomach flip. “I need to drop back there for a second, and I’ll meet you at the end of your street, I promise.” Tramp smiled, inching towards the darker alley. If his memory served right, there was something back there that would be a perfect gift for Lady, if only he could get away for a minute, and if this succeeded then he could.

Lady hesitated. The street looked nice enough, and if memory served she’d walked it before with Jim Dear, but at night and without Tramp seemed a bit much. But the look in Tramp’s eyes was reassuring and she couldn’t resist the temptation to see what he was talking about first hand. “Ok,” she agreed with a smile. Tramp barked his excitement.

“That’s the spirit!” He exclaimed. “Ok, on three.” He said. “One... Two... THREE!” Tramp took off for the alley and Lady scampered along the brightly lit cobblestones. She began to enjoy herself after only a few seconds, feeling like a couple of pups racing each other.

The street disappeared under her paws as she flew past the shops, fighting her fatigue to beat Tramp to the intersection. The cobblestones were rough under her paws, but she paid no mind. The night air was giving her an incredible high and she wasn’t about to give it up for a little bit of pain.

When the intersection was in sight, she let out a burst of unnatural speed and skidded to a halt at the mouth of the alley, her nails scraping the pavements and causing a loud screeching noise. Tramp should be emerging from the mouth of the alley any second. Or rather, he should have _already_ emerged from as his legs were much longer than Lady’s.

‘ _That road is probably longer,’_ Lady reasoned, comforting herself as to why Tramp hadn’t shown up. ‘ _Yes that must be it; he took the longer one to give me a chance.’_ She leaned back on her hindquarters, resting her sore paws from the exertion. After a long time of unnaturally loud silence, Lady stood, sniffing the air around the edge of the darkness.

“Tramp?” She called hesitantly, hoping that perhaps he was just out of sight but not earshot. When no reply came, she took another wary step into the cloak of shadows extending from the buildings. “Tramp?” She repeated, louder this time and still to no avail. Lady looked around the street- not a car or other animal in sight. But this was a dangerous place at night, and maybe he’d come across one of his old ‘friends’. Lady began to worry.

“No,” She said aloud. “I would’ve heard a scuffle- a bark- something if Tramp was in trouble. He’s probably just-” ‘ _Horribly hurt?’_ Her mind guessed. The fear of something hurting her Tramp was too great- Lady had to look. She simply had to.

With a deep breath she placed one paw in front of the other, immersing herself in utter night. Like a puppy learning to walk, she stumbled along the unfamiliar territory, sniffing and searching for any other signs of life.

“Just a little walk indeed,” She scoffed, scrunching her nose in disgust as a rat scampered by. “Tramp!”

There was a sound to her left and Lady jumped, all paws digging into the softer earth. It hadn’t sounded like Tramp’s bark- it hadn’t sounded like a bark at all. It had sounded like someone had run into a wall or a bin, not something Tramp was known to do even in pitch black. With a cautious step Lady inched forward, startling herself when she saw her shadow moving. She exhaled in relief and made a move to continue, but her shadow didn’t follow the gesture.

Cocking her head to the side, Lady leaned forward, sniffing the air for unfamiliar scent. The only thing she could smell was damp air, sewage, and wet dog-

The shadow moved again, inching its way into the light cast by the main street. Lady’s better judgement told her to move- but what if it was Tramp? He could be hurt- seriously hurt- and if she walked away, what would happen to him?

With a deep breath, she held her ground, waiting for the dog to push his way into the light. After a seemingly long struggle, the great mutt pushed onto all fours, towering above Lady with snout slathered in foam and eyes blazing red. It wasn’t Tramp.

Standing before Lady was a Doberman, its black fur no longer gleaming with shine, but matted with saliva and caked with dirt. He stumbled for a moment, like Jim Dear on New Year’s Eve after he’d consumed too many of those brown tinted bottles Lady disliked the smell of. After the dog regained his balance, he caught sight of Lady, and his disgusting mouth began to water.

“What’s a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?” The dog rumbled, confusing his R’s with W’s. Lady took an involuntary step backwards, and the beast’s eyes zeroed in on the movement. With a great _thud_ he was on the opposite side of her, blocking her exit. Lady spun around, sinking low to the ground and backing further into the alley.

“Jackal,” another bark erupted from somewhere in the darkness as a miserable-looking collie worked his way into the light. “Stop playing around and get back to-” The collie paused, his eyes lighting with mischief at the sight of the frightened Lady. “Well, well, well...” He drawled, shaking his shoulders and sending a clump of fur that had been dangling from his shoulder flying into the drain. “What have we here?”

Lady looked from the menacing Doberman to the bedraggled Collie, guessing which one would have slower reaction time. The Collie seemed less agile than the Doberman, but Lady couldn’t be sure. The missing clumps of fur and wiry texture of his coat gave the Collie the appearance of a dish cloth, but then again his legs- where skinny- were wrapped tightly with muscle, and looked powerful despite his overall façade.

Lady kept her mouth firmly shut, not releasing so much as a whimper to show her fear. Rotating so she could keep her eyes on both the dogs, she backed away, slinking along the ground until she hit a brick wall. A quick glance around told her there was no escape, and if these dogs started to get violent then there was nothing she could do to prevent it.

“Don’t be afraid little lady,” The Doberman growled, again mixing up his R’s and W’s. “We’re not gonna hurt you...”

“Much,” The Collie added with a cackle.

Meanwhile, just down the alleyway, Tramp scavenged through a box that he’d left there many months ago- before he’d found Lady. The box had been turned upside down and inside out and there were no reminisce of his former stash. With a sigh he pulled his nose out of the rubble and continued his solitary walk down the road. ‘ _Lady deserves better than some street trash anyway’,_ he tried to convince himself.

Looking on ahead of him in the street, he realised how long this adventure had taken him. Lady would be beside herself with worry- if she’d even made it to the end of the street yet. Tramp cursed his bad timing and started at a jog down the blackened street- watching out for two dogs he knew enjoyed hanging around this alley.

He’d come across Jackal and Roz many a times in his life on the streets, the collie and Doberman had always wanted to pick a fight with him, but after a good smack on the nose they’d both backed off. However, if they saw him now, alone and unsuspecting, they mightn’t be able to resist a fight. Tramp quickened his pace, sniffing for the repulsive scent indicating the duo was near.

After only a few feet his nostrils met the tangible odour he’d been removed from for so long. With a stifled growl he slowed, not wanting to give them a reason to believe he was in a hurry to get away. Every shadow drew his attention, and every shift made him tense, but never once did one of the dogs jump him. Odd.

It was when he was almost at the end of the street that he heard voices- Jackal and Roz alike were speaking, but not to each other. Tramp cocked an eyebrow; slowly inching forward to get a better view of the poor creature Roz and Jackal were intimidating.

His heart literally stopped in his chest when he caught sight of the ‘poor creature’. Lady was cowering against the side of a building just inside the mouth of the alley. Her back was arched and her fur bristling- snout pulled back in a defensive snarl. It was the most menacing Tramp had ever seen Lady- but her size would be nothing against Roz and Jackal- that much he knew from experience.

He forced himself to keep quiet even though his heart was now pounding in his ears and his teeth were aching with a longing to tear at one of them, but he didn’t dare. Not when Lady’s life was at stake.

Lady tried to crouch lower, but it was physically impossible- she was the lowest she could go and the two dogs were advancing on her, promising a good time. Lady cringed, how was she to get out of this? Her snarl and growl was doing nothing to deter them, and the one apparently name Jackal was advancing.

He sniffed at her throat, tongue lolling and saturating his lips until they were acceptably moist. With a brave paw Lady lashed out, batting him away and leaving a scratch on his snout. Jackal recoiled, more out of shock than actual pain, as the Collie beside him rolled in fits of laughter.

Jackal’s eyes blazed. No prim and proper house pet was getting the best of him, not on his watch. With a ferocious growl he threw himself at Lady, jaws open and snapping with intent to rip, tear, and most of all, kill.

He didn’t get within ten inches of the little dog when a terrifying snarl reached his ears. In a matter of seconds Jackal was flying through the air, tumbling into a cache of trash bins. Tramp pulled back his teeth, rumbling a warning to his old enemies.

Jackal recovered from his trip, shaking his head to regain his vision. When his eyes focused and he was able to take in the picture of Tramp defending his Lady, Jackal blanched. Roz joined Jackal in his disbelief, gaping openly at the former street dog.

“Well, well, well,” Roz sniffed. “Look who it is Jack, it’s the Tramp!” He grinned wickedly, pacing around Tramp who was still tensed in front of Lady, not leaving an open area for Roz or Jackal to attack. “Back to protecting the innocent are we? Don’t worry; you can have a bit of her when we’re done.”

Tramp’s answering growl was loud enough to wake the dead. Roz took an involuntary step backwards, blinking in recognition. “Oh I get it,” Roz grinned wickedly. “This is your girl...”

“Hey Roz,” Tramp whispered dangerously. “Still want that fight?” Roz’s eyes lit up at the prospect as he circled Tramp, tensing for a pounce.

“If you’re sure you’re up for it Tramp...” Roz agreed, rolling his shoulders and launching into the air. Tramp met his blow with a fearsome snap, latching onto the skin of Roz’s neck and pinning him to the ground. Roz fought back, squirming out of Tramp’s clutches and swiping a paw at Tramp’s foreleg. He jumped out of the way, just in time, and then Roz was on him again.

Lady backed further into the wall, trying to stay out of the way but trying to help at the same time. Jackal was contemplating joining the fight, and she wasn’t sure Tramp could handle them both at the same time.

Luckily, he didn’t have to, because just as Jackal braced his hind legs to jump, a rush of gold-tinted white fur rocketed from the shadows, colliding with Jackal and thrusting him into the brick. The new ally fought tooth and nail with Jackal, keeping him at bay while Tramp handled Roz. With a yelp Roz tumbled to the ground, cradling his injured leg close to his body. With baleful eyes he stared at Tramp who was panting and glaring at Roz.

The other off-white dog had long since finished with Jackal, running him off to a far corner of the alley. With a sniff Roz followed, limping after his colleague. Tramp turned to sniff at Lady, nuzzling her fur with his cheek.

“Are you ok Pidge?” He whispered, licking her cheek. Lady responded by standing and rubbing her own cheek against his. After a long moment Tramp turned to the other dog, gratitude and a smile on his face. “Thanks Sam.”

The white and golden dog shook his mane, rolling his shoulders and glancing up at Tramp. He was, Lady could see, a cross between a Samoyed and a Golden Retriever. His coat was well-groomed and yet messy from the scuffle with Jackal, and he had a bright blue bandana tied roughly around his neck like he had an owner. “No problem,” He grinned, but his voice startled Lady. He wasn’t a ‘ _him’_ but a ‘ _her’_.

The girl dog wagged her tail, approaching Lady and Tramp with a sparkle in her ice blue eyes. “Been a long time since I’ve seen you around here Tramp,” She said. “I’d ask where you ran off to but it’s plain to see that question’s been answered for me,” Sam nodded to Lady with a smile.

“Yeah, I’ve been leashed.” Tramp chuckled, gazing at Lady affectionately. “Where’ve you been lately Sam? I haven’t seen you around either.”

“Not that you would’ve,” Sam laughed, “You’ve been leashed, remember? I’ve been spending most of my time downtown. There’s a sweet older man who lives up there. He likes my company and I get a free meal and place to sleep out of it, so what the hey.” She grinned.

“You still seeing that mutt from the bay?” Tramp asked conversationally, keeping Lady close by his side. Sam fixed him with a pointed look.

“He’s from the docks, and yes, yes I am.” She smiled fondly.

“Haven’t tired him out yet?” Tramp laughed. Sam gaped at him, trying to hide her smile. “Well hey; you were pretty wild back in the day.”

“Still am,” Sam winked, laughing.

“I can see that,” Tramp laughed too, gesturing to where Jackal and Roz had long run off. “Well, we’d better be heading back. Jim Dear and Darling will be getting up in a few hours and if we’re not there when they do...”

“Yeah I gotcha,” Sam laughed again. “Catch ya on the flip side- look me up if you’re ever in the area. Nice meeting you... um...”

“Lady,” She answered quickly. “It was nice meeting you too. Thank you,” Lady added as an afterthought.

“No problem,” Sam assured her, and with a swish of her tail she bounded off down the street.

“Well she was nice,” Lady commented, stepping quickly back to the main street. Lady liked meeting Tramp’s old friends, it was a chance for her to see what he was REALLY like before she’d come along, and almost everyone agreed that Tramp was definitely a hustler.

“Yeah, she’s an old friend.” Tramp mused. “Good fighter too, I’m glad she came along.” He paused in his step. “Lady, are you ok?”

Lady stopped to look him in the face. His brown eyes were glistening with worry, all the worry he had focused only on her. Lady grinned.

“Yes Tramp, I’m fine.” She licked his cheek. “Now please, can we go home? I’ve had enough walking for a life time.”


End file.
